You can't blame Sharks standouts Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton if they're licking their chops at the thought of it.

The feeling, apparently, is mutual.

“It's nice to maybe get a chance to play against those guys and prove yourself. If you can shut down those guys, who are some of the best in the league, it shows you can do it against anyone,” said Carson, who was summoned from the AHL's Abbotsford Heat and will make his first NHL appearance since Dec. 15, 2011.

“It's been over a year here since I've got a chance to play here, so you've gotta go out and try to prove something. Hopefully, it goes well.”

While Giordano will likely rejoin the team for Saturday's meeting with the Vancouver Canucks a little further up the West Coast, the Flames are also trying to fill the void created by the trade of big-minute blueliner Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues.

It's worth noting Carson has 80 NHL games on his resume.

Babchuk and Sarich, despite both being healthy scratches numerous times this season, are also experienced guys.

Brodie, Butler and Wideman have been among Bob Hartley's regulars.

“We all have to step it up a little bit. We all have to play better,” Wideman said. “I don't think there's anybody saying that we're not capable of playing here. Everybody has played games and has been around and been in all situations. I think we'll be fine.”

On paper, Friday's clash at HP Pavilion is a bit of a mismatch.

The Flames are coming off Wednesday's 8-2 embarrassment at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers at the Saddledome and haven't had a lick of success lately on the road, going 11 in a row without a victory.

The Sharks, meanwhile, have won six straight games and have the NHL's best road record at 13-1-4.

One of those streaks will end Friday night.

“There's a lot of life in here,” Carson insisted after the morning skate. “Obviously, it's been a pretty frustrating year, I think, up here but we're still going to go out there and work hard. We're not going to mail any points in.

“Some teams might overlook us but a lot of guys have stuff to prove, so we're going to work hard.”

For their part, the Sharks were saying all the right things, refusing to dump on a Flames team that just traded away two of its top players — Jarome Iginla and Bouwmeester — and is in the early stages of a rebuild.

“They still have a lot of talent and skill and I think they can beat anyone on any given night,” said Sharks forward T.J. Galiardi, a Calgary product who spent one season with the Western Hockey League's Hitmen.

“There's a lot of parity in this league and you get into trouble when you go into games thinking, 'Oh, this is a free two points.' That's certainly not the case whenever we play these guys, whether Giordano is in or they make all those trades or not. There's a lot of pride in the room over there, so we have to watch out.”

The Flames (13-18-4) will start Miikka Kiprusoff between the pipes. The Sharks (19-11-6) will counter with fellow Finnish netminder Antti Niemi.

Sharks winger Raffi Torres, who was acquired just hours before the trade deadline, was feeling ill and will have to wait to make his debut in the Silicon Valley.

You can't blame Sharks standouts Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton if they're licking their chops at the thought of it.

The feeling, apparently, is mutual.

“It's nice to maybe get a chance to play against those guys and prove yourself. If you can shut down those guys, who are some of the best in the league, it shows you can do it against anyone,” said Carson, who was summoned from the AHL's Abbotsford Heat and will make his first NHL appearance since Dec. 15, 2011.